Sunday, March 20, 2011

I cried the day Dave bought me a minivan. I was 23 years old. We'd been married four years and recently had our second (and last haha) baby. We were both still students at Washington State University, for crying in the night! Clearly, I was far too young to be driving a... mini van...

My how things have changed. Now expecting baby number 7 (clearly the "I only want two children" claim didn't stick), we are officially VAN PEOPLE. Not minivan, but VAN People (we are THOSE people, lol). Over the weekend we made the two-hour trek up to Spokane and purchased our very own fifteen passenger van. And to tell you the truth, I am so excited. I'm not excited to have people point and count as we pass them in town, but I am excited to be able to travel with friends in ONE vehicle! I'm looking forward to making day trips to parks and out to the mountains for hikes with more than just our family in tow. I'm excited that my 10-year-old will not have to be wedged in between two HUGE hot pink carseats in the back row of the Burb. I'm excited that the children can all be an arms' length from each other ( possibly the single most exciting aspect of being van people! lol the two-year-old is a hair puller).

Thursday, March 17, 2011

We're having a GIRL! That's right, baby number seven appears to be a girl. The ultrasound tech didn't have to say anything. I've seen enough ultrasounds to tell. So when she showed us I yelled, "ITS A GIRL!!!" and then both my husband and I burst into laughter. Six girls and one boy is just hilarious to me!! I keep thinking, "Poor Jack, he needs a brother". But, the Lord knows what each of us needs. Not to mention he really doesn't seem to mind all the motherly attention thus far...granted he is only 8 months old :p Dave says, "That's why we have a big garage, for man-time."

Suprisingly, we may have a name that we all like! The last three girls haven't had names until shortly before or after their birth! We're shocked and feeling so accomplished at the possibility of having a name already (well, at least a first name).

I got out the newborn girl clothes the other day and of course we were all dying and you would not believe the amout of "awwww, cuuuuuute" that day. Even Georgia, who isn't quite two, marveled at the cuteness of all the itty bitty pink stuff (that was after trying on everything and realizing nothing fit her).

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

There are a lot of reasons that people homeschool. Here are a few of the reasons our family made the decision to homeschool.

1. In Deuteronomy we are commanded to teach our children the ways of God constantly. We do not think that is possible if they are surrounded by people who don't know the Lord for most of the day.

2. Ultimately, we will be responsible for the education of our children before the Lord. It will not be their teachers, sunday school teachers or anyone else. We will be held accountable.

3. Children spend about 7 hours per day in a classroom, but are only give an average of 2 hours of instruction. At home we usually give 4 hours of instruction and plenty of time for the kids to explore their own interests, without being required to sit at a desk. My children are learning to sew, bake, cook, crochet, play piano and so many other things that I never had the opportunity to do because I was always in school or involved in other school activities.

4. Our oldest did go to public school for K and first grade. She seemed to care more about her friends, even at that young age then she cared about her family, especially her sisters. Within a few weeks of pulling her out of public school we noticed a marked difference in how she treated her sisters and the rest of her family.

5. Being at home has given my children the opportunity to learn to be social with people of all ages, not just children their own age. They are able to play with little kids and kids older than them. They also know how to interact with adults and love spending time with elderly friends from church.

6. The best colleges in the US hold sp0ts specifically for homeschooled kids. Apparently homeschoolers are better at problem-solving and thinking outside of the box.

7. There is no need to "filter" what our children are learning or undo what they've already learned. The truth is, when your children are surrounded by ungodly children all day, that is who they're being taught by.

8. If we don't trust the government with our money, our health care, foreign policy, or ...well , anything really...why would we EVER trust them with our children?

9. Homeschooling is fun! PLUS I have personally learned more in 3 years of homeschooling my own kids than I did in 16 years of public school. That's right, even through college! I was schooled, not educated.